However, rest assured that the defendant corporation and/or its insurance company will move quickly to hire, investigators, wrongful death lawyers and insurance adjusters to protect their interest.  Unfortunately, many grieving spouses and family members “go to battle” without a professional wrongful death attorney of their own.

Wrongful Death Actions Arise From A Variety Of Accidents

While a wrongful death action can arise from a variety of causes, the most common causes of a wrongful death include:

1. Automobile accidents
2. Medical malpractice
3. Defective products and drugs
4. Construction and workplace accidents
5. Maritime and longshore/harborworker accidents

In each of these cases if it can be a shown by the applicable standard of evidence (see below) that a defendant acted with negligence, recklessness, a complete disregard for the victim’s safety, or with intent to harm or kill the victim, the death is deemed to be an actionable wrongful death. Let’s take a look , in more detail, at the most common kinds of wrongful death accidents

Motor Vehicle Accidents. Motorists have an obligation to exercise caution while operating motor vehicles and drive safely according to the conditions while being mindful of other motorist, adverse weather conditions and pedestrians. 

Medical Malpractice. If a medical practitioner fails to perform his or her duties to the accepted standard of care, thereby causing death to a patient; then, the doctor or medical practitioner can be held accountable.

Defective Products Or Drugs (“Product Liability”). Manufacturers, distributors, and designers must ensure that their products are safe for the public. If a product is defective in terms of its design, manufacturing, or customers are not made aware of a potentially harmful risk; then they can be held liable if a person is killed as a result, even if the parties were not negligent.

Construction Or Workplace Accidents. Employers have a legal obligation to meet OSHA standards, as well as additional safety standards under state law and generally provide a safe work environment for their employees.  If an employee is killed on a work site as a result of an employer or contractor’s  negligent actions or disregard for employee safety, the surviving spouse and/or family members can bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible parties.

Maritime And Longshore/Harborworker Accidents. Persons employed as sailors aboard ships, as well as those who load and unload cargo carried on ships, have enjoyed special protection under two federal laws:  The Jones Act (sailors and seamen) and the Longshore and Harborworkers Act.  Where seamen or stevedores are killed while on the job, the family has the ability to bring a wrongful death action under these statutes.

As you can see, there are a number of way that a victim can lose his life while driving, being treated for medical conditions, or on the job.  Each of these areas of law require the expertise of a wrongful death attorney.  You can bet the defendant will employ some of the best investigatory and legal talent that it can afford.  Let’s take a look at why you need to hire a professional wrongful death attorney of your own.

As you are beginning to see, a wrongful death action is much more complicated than a “fender bender” automobile action of a “dog bite” case involving neighbors.

When someone dies, the stakes are high and the liability exposure of the defendants can be in the millions or billions of dollars.

In simple terms, negotiating, litigating or settling a wrongful death action is not a “do it yourself project.”

Let’s see why.

Fight Unfair Insurance Company Tactics

Make no mistake, in a wrongful death action, that insurance adjuster or lawyer with a “toothy grin” and “aw shucks” attitude is not there to help you.  He is there to make sure that:

1. He locks in your statement early before additional damages have a chance to manifest themselves and you change your story later to reflect these new facts.
2. He settles your claim early and quickly while you are emotionally vulnerable and uncertain about your future; and, before you have a chance to retain wrongful death legal counsel.
3. If he cannot settle your claim early, then he will drag it out as long as he can in the hopes that you will miss the statute of limitations, waive some other important legal right or just get tired and take the offer.

I have practiced both insurance defense and plaintiff’s personal injury law.  In every case, this was the standard defense playbook.

No exceptions.  Period.

Families who choose not to hire a personal injury attorney had no chance of being treated fairly by the defendants and their insurance companies.  The settlements we obtained were far in excess of what was offered to these victims before retaining our wrongful death law firm.

Determine Who Can File A Wrongful Death Action

To the layperson, the surviving spouse and her children seem to be the logical persons to file the wrongful death cause of action.  In fact, in most states this is not the case.  In fact, the unrepresented person would be surprised to know who can file a wrongful death claim in many states.  Potential plaintiffs range from step children, dependant adult children and non-children, employers (if not involved in the death), former spouses, adult siblings, parents of adult children, and, in some cases, grandparents as well.

The family that fails to seek competent wrongful death legal counsel has no way of determining whether or not everyone with a right to recover has been joined as a party.  The net effect is that the defendants will avoid paying all of those affected or worse; additional parties could intervene at the last minute, thereby substantially decreasing each party’s portion of the recovered money.

Recover All Types Of Types Of Damages

Here is an overview of the most common types of damages:

Compensatory Damages. These are intended to repay a victim’s family for the costs of medical care, funeral and burial and other expenses they had to incur as the direct result of the wrongful death. They may also be awarded to replace lost income the victim (and his dependents) would have enjoyed if they had lived. Depending on the age of the victim and his or her income level, the income can be projected out for decades.  On the other hand, families have also been awarded damages for an individual’s housekeeping and for child-care services and loss of companionship.

Punitive Or Exemplary Damages. A victim may recover punitive damages to punish the defendant where it is determined that its acts were intentional reckless or even grossly negligent.  They are awarded in addition to compensatory damages.  Even though juries can award whatever amount of punitive damages they feel are appropriate, judges have the power to review and reduce (or increase) the jury award (called “remittitur”) or set it aside altogether.  In some states, exemplary damages have been limited by statute.

Purchase Structured Settlements. A wrongful death attorney can advise you when to purchase structured settlement payments to provide for the long term financial support of minor children, widows, incompetent persons or those with long term special medical needs.

Gather Hidden Evidence In A Wrongful Death Claim

A party who files a wrongful death lawsuit seeking financial damages from the responsible party must gather evidence from a variety of sources to prove their case and win in court.  Successful parties must prove, usually by a “preponderance of the evidence,” that the responsible party had a duty to act in a certain way, failed to act according to that duty, and in doing so, injured another party, causing damages.

Preponderance of the Evidence. In wrongful death lawsuits and most civil cases, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant is responsible for the plaintiff’s injury by a “preponderance of the evidence,” which means that it is “more likely than not” that the defendant’s actions were responsible for the victim’s injuries. It has been described as a 51% proof of liability standard.   This is a much lower burden than in a criminal case where the burden is “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Evidence In A Wrongful Death Claim. In most wrongful death cases, evidence comes from witnesses, documentary evidence (police reports, medical records, etc.) and expert testimony.  In some cases it comes from unlikely sources, such as internal company correspondence and memorandums, employee notes, emails, texts, phone calls, surveillance video, neighbors, and other hard to find sources.  Experienced wrongful death attorneys have the expertise and resources to thoroughly investigate all of these leads and more.

Avoid Missing The Statute Of Limitations

Even though statutes of limitation vary from state to state, the general rule is that the statute of limitation runs two years from the date of death, or in some cases, the date of the injury or accident (if the victim does not die immediately).  In other states, the statute of limitation is as short as one year.

Unfortunately, once an unscrupulous defense attorney or insurance adjuster determines that you are not going to settle the wrongful death claim quickly for pennies on the dollar, their focus shifts to dragging the investigation out for as long as possible.  This is an effort to (1) cause you to miss the statute of limitations; and, (2) wear you down so that you will take the meager settlement and walk away.

In either case, finding and hiring experienced wrongful death lawyers will avoid this potentially devastating but simple mistake.

Conclusion:  Your Wrongful Death Action Is Much To Important To Handle Yourself

Lawyers have a saying amongst themselves in the legal industry.

A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.

Now, if lawyers know not to represent themselves, how much more important is it that laypersons take that advice as well.

If you suspect that you have a valid wrongful death claim, it is important that you speak to a qualified wrongful death attorney for a case review.

Between unscrupulous insurance adjuster tactics, loss or destruction of critical evidence and statute of limitations that vary by state, you simply cannot take a chance of mishandling a serious legal claim on this magnitude.

Indeed, waiting too long to consult with an attorney can prevent you from ever getting into to court to fight for financial compensation for your family’s medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of companionship and other damages.

Contact an experienced wrongful death attorney today to discuss your legal rights.

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